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8117 

IN3E5 
1898 


B    M    IS?    21D 


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NEW  YORK :  R.  H.  RUSSELL,  MDCCCXCVIII 


M  3918 


COPYRIGHT,  1895,  BY  D.  B.  UPDIKE.  ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED. 


i^ote 


IN  this  Merrymount  Edition  of  Hans  Andersen's 
story,  the  translation  of  H.  W.  Dulcken  is  fol- 
lowed. The  illustrations  are  by  Mary  J.  Newill  of 
Birmingham. 


Cbe  i^igJ)tmple 

BEING  A  STORY  FOR  CHILDREN  AND  A 
PARABLE    FOR    MEN   AND   WOMEN. 

IN  CHINA,  you  must  know,  the  Emperor  is  a 
Chinaman,  and  all  whom  he  has  about  him  are 
Chinamen  too.  It  happened  a  good  many  years 
ago,  but  that's  just  why  it's  worth  while  to  hear 
the  story  before  it's  forgotten!  The  Emperor's  Palace 
was  the  most  splendid  in  the  World;  it  was  made  entire- 
ly of  porcelain,  very  costly,  but  so  delicate  and  brittle 
that  one  had  to  take  care  how  one  touched  it.  In  the 
Garden  were  to  be  seen  the  most  wonderful  flowers,  and 
to  the  costliest  of  them  silver  bells  were  tied,  which 
sounded,  so  that  nobody  should  pass  by  without  noticing 
the  flowers.  Yes,  every  thing  in  the  Emperor's  Garden 
was  admirably  arranged.  And  it  extended  so  far,  that  the 
Gardener  himself  did  not  know  where  the  end  was.  If  a 
man  went  on  and  on,  he  came  into  a  glorious  forest  with 
high  trees  and  deep  lakes.  The  wood  extended  straight 
down  to  the  sea,  which  was  blue  and  deep;  great  vessels 
could  sail  beneath  the  branches  of  the  trees,  and  in  the 
trees  lived  a  Nightingale,  which  sang  so  splendidly  that 
even  the  poor  Fisherman,  who  had  many  other  things 
to  do,  stopped  still  and  listened,  when  he  had  gone  out 
at  night  to  throw  out  his  nets,  and  heard  the  Nightin- 
gale. "How  beautiful  that  is!"  he  said;  but  he  was 
obliged  to  attend  to  his  property  and  thus  forgot  the 
bird.  But  when  in  the  next  night,  the  bird  sang  again 
and  the  Fisherman  heard  it,  he  exclaimed  again, "  How 
beautiful  that  is!" 

I 


From  all  the  countries  of  the  World,  Travellers  came 
to  the  City  of  the  Emperor  and  admired  it,  and  the  Pal- 
ace and  the  Garden,  but  when  they  heard  the  song  of 
the  Nightingale,  they  said:  "That  is  the  best  of  all!" 
And  theTravellers  toldofitwhen  they  came  home;  and 
the  learned  men  wrote  many  books  about  the  Town, 
the  Palace,  and  the  Garden.  But  they  did  not  forget  the 
Nightingale;  that  was  placed  highest  of  all;  and  those 
who  were  Poets  wrote  most  magnificent  poems  about 
the  Nightingale  in  the  wood,  by  the  deep  lake.  The 
books  went  through  all  the  World;  and  a  few  of  them 
once  came  to  the  Emperor.  He  sat  in  his  golden  chair, 
and  read,  and  read;  every  moment  he  nodded  his  head, 
for  it  pleased  him  to  peruse  the  masterly  descriptions  of 
the  City,  the  Palace,  and  the  Garden. "  But  the  Nightin- 
gale is  the  best  of  all!"  it  stood  written  there.  "What's 
that?  exclaimed  the  Emperor."  "I  do  not  know  the 
Nightingale  at  all!  Is  there  such  a  bird  in  my  Garden? 
I've  never  heard  of  that:  to  learn  such  a  thing  for  the 
first  time  from  books!"  And  hereupon  he  called  his 
Cavalier.  This  Cavalier  was  so  grand  that  if  any  one 
lower  in  rank  than  himself  dared  to  speak  to  him,  or  to 
ask  him  any  question,  he  answered  nothing  but  P!  and 
that  meant  nothing. 

"  There  is  said  to  be  a  wonderful  bird  here  called  a 
Nightingale !  "  said  the  Emperor. "  They  say  it's  the  best 
thing  in  all  my  great  Empire.  Why  have  I  never  heard 
any  thing  about  it?  "  "  I  have  never  heard  him  named," 
replied  the  Cavalier.  "  He  has  never  been  introduced 
at  Court."  "  I  command  that  he  shall  appear  this  even- 

2 


ing,  and  sing  before  me,"  said  the  Emperor.  "All  the 
world  knows  what  I  possess,  and  I  do  not  know  it 
myself!""!  have  never  heard  him  mentioned,"  said  the 
Cavalier.  "  I  will  seek  for  him.  I  will  find  him."  But 
where  was  he  to  be  found?  The  Cavalier  ran  up  and 
down  all  the  staircases,  through  halls  and  passages,  but 
no  one  among  all  those  whom  he  met  had  heard  talk 
of  the  Nightingale.  And  the  Cavalier  ran  back  to  the 
Emperor,  and  said  that  it  must  be  a  fable  invented  by 
the  writers  of  books.  "Your  Imperial  Majesty  cannot 
believe  how  much  is  written  that  is  fidion,  and  some- 
thing that  they  call  the  black  art."  "But  the  book  in 
which  I  read  this,"  said  the  Emperor,  "was  sent  to  me 
by  the  High  and  Mighty  Emperor  of  Japan,  and  there- 
fore it  cannot  be  a  falsehood.  I  will  hear  the  Nightin- 
gale! It  must  be  here  this  evening!  It  has  my  imperial 
favour!  and  if  it  does  not  come,  all  the  Court  shall  be 
trampled  upon  after  the  Court  has  supped!"  "Tsing- 
pe,"  said  the  Cavalier;  and  again  he  ran  up  and  down  all 
the  staircases,  and  through  all  the  halls  and  corridors; 
and  half  the  Court  ran  with  him,  for  the  Courtiers  did 
not  like  being  trampled  upon. 

Then  there  was  a  great  inquiry  after  the  wonderful 
Nightingale,  which  all  the  World  knew,  excepting  the 
people  at  Court.  At  last  they  met  with  a  poor  little  Girl 
in  the  kitchen,  who  said,  "The  Nightingale?  I  know 
it  well;  yes,  it  can  sing  gloriously.  Every  evening  I  get 
leave  to  carry  my  poor  sick  mother  the  scraps  from  the 
table.  She  lives  down  by  the  strand,  and  when  I  get  back 
and  am  tired,  and  rest  in  the  wood,  then  I  hear  the 


Nightingale  sing!  And  then  the  water  comes  into  my 
eyes,  and  it  is  just  as  if  my  mother  kissed  me."  "  Little 
Kitchen-Girl,"  said  the  Cavalier,  "I  will  get  you  a  place 
in  the  kitchen,  with  permission  to  see  the  Emperor 
dine,  if  you  will  lead  us  to  the  Nightingale,  for  it  is  an- 
nounced for  this  evening." 

So  they  all  went  out  into  the  wood  where  the  Night- 
ingale was  accustomed  to  sing;  half  the  Court  went 
forth.  When  they  were  in  the  midst  of  their  journey  a 
cow  began  to  low.  "  Oh ! "  cried  the  court  pages,  "  now 
we  have  it !  That  shows  a  wonderful  power  in  so  small 
a  creature!  I  have  certainly  heard  it  before."  "No;  those 
are  cows  lowing,"  said  the  little  Kitchen-Girl. "  We  are 
a  long  way  from  the  place  yet."  Now  the  frogs  began  to 
quack  in  the  marsh.  "  Glorious!"  said  the  Chinese 
Court  Preacher.  "  Now  I  hear  it:  it  sounds  just  like  lit- 
tle church  bells."  "No;  those  are  frogs,"  said  the  little 
Kitchen-Maid."But  now  I  think  we  shall  soon  hear  it." 
And  then  the  Nightingale  began  to  sing. 
"  That  is  it ! "  exclaimed  the  little  Girl.  "  Listen,  listen ! 
and  yonder  it  sits,"  and  she  pointed  to  a  little  gray  bird 
up  in  the  boughs.  "Is  it  possible?"  cried  the  Cavalier. 
"  I  should  never  have  thought  it  looked  like  that.  How 
simple  it  looks!  It  must  certainly  have  lost  its  colour 
at  seeing  such  grand  people  around."  "Little  Night- 
ingale!" called  the  little  Kitchen-Girl,  quite  loudly, 
"our  gracious  Emperor  wishes  you  to  sing  before  him." 
"  With  the  greatest  pleasure ! "  replied  the  Nightingale, 
and  began  to  sing  most  delightfully. "  It  soundsjust  like 
glass  bells! "  said  the  Cavalier.  "  And  look  at  the  little 
5 


€1)0  i^tgbtingale  ^  it 

throat,  how  its  working!  It's  wonderful  that  we  should 
never  have  heard  it  before.  That  bird  will  be  a  great  suc- 
cess at  Court."  "  Shall  I  sing  once  more  before  the  Em  - 
peror?"  asked  the  Nightingale,  for  it  thought  the  Em- 
peror was  present.  "My  excellent  little  Nightingale," 
said  the  Cavalier,"  I  have  great  pleasure  in  inviting  you 
to  a  Court  festival  this  evening,  when  you  shall  charm 
his  Imperial  Majesty  with  your  beautiful  singing." 
"  My  song  sounds  best  in  the  green  wood ! "  replied  the 
Nightingale;  still  it  came  willingly  when  it  heard  what 
the  Emperor  wished. 

THE  Palace  was  festively  adorned.  The  walls 
and  the  flooring,  which  were  of  porcelain, 
gleamed  in  the  rays  of  thousands  of  golden 
lamps.  The  most  glorious  flowers,  which 
could  ring  clearly,  had  been  placed  in  the  passages. 
There  was  a  running  to  and  fro,  and  a  through  draught, 
and  all  the  bells  rang  so  loudly  that  one  could  not  hear 
one's  self  speak.  In  the  midst  of  the  great  hall,  where 
the  Emperor  sat,  a  golden  perch  had  been  placed,  on 
which  the  Nightingale  was  to  sit.  The  whole  Court 
was  there,  and  the  little  Cook-Maid  had  got  leave  to 
stand  behind  the  door,  as  she  had  now  received  the  title 
of  a  real  Court  cook.  All  were  in  full  dress,  and  all 
looked  at  the  little  gray  bird,  to  which  the  Emperor 
nodded. 

And  the  Nightingale  sang  so  gloriously  that  the  tears 

came  into  the  Emperor's  eyes.  The  tears  ran  down  over 

his  cheeks,  and  then  the  Nightingale  sang  still  more 

7 


€1)0  i^tgbtmple  ^  ii 

sweetly;  that  went  straight  to  the  heart.  The  Emperor 
was  so  much  pleased  that  he  said  the  Nightingale 
should  have  his  golden  slipper  to  wear  round  its  neck. 
But  the  Nightingale  declined  this  with  thanks,  saying 
it  had  already  received  a  sufficient  reward.  "  I  have  seen 
tears  in  the  Emperor's  eyes  ;  that  is  the  real  treasure  to 
me!  An  Emperor's  tears  have  a  peculiar  power.  I  am 
rewarded  enough. "And  then  it  sang  again  with  a  sweet, 
glorious  voice. 

"That's  the  most  amiable  coquetry  I  ever  saw!"  said 
the  Ladies  who  stood  round  about,  and  then  they  took 
water  in  their  mouths  to  gurgle  when  any  one  spoke 
to  them.  They  thought  they  should  be  nightingales  too. 
And  the  lackeys  and  chambermaids  reported  that  they 
were  satisfied  too;  and  that  was  saying  a  good  deal, 
for  they  are  the  most  difficult  to  please.  In  short  the 
Nightingale  achieved  a  real  success.  It  was  now  to  re- 
main at  Court,  to  have  its  own  cage,  with  liberty  to  go 
out  twice  every  day  and  once  at  night.  Twelve  servants 
were  appointed  when  the  Nightingale  went  out,  each 
of  whom  had  a  silken  string  fastened  to  the  bird's  leg, 
and  which  they  held  very  tight.  There  was  really  no 
pleasure  in  an  excursion  of  that  kind.  The  whole  City 
spoke  of  the  wonderful  bird,  and  when  two  people  met, 
one  said  nothing  but  Jl3Jigl)tin,  and  the  other  saidgalC; 
and  then  they  sighed,  and  understood  one  another. 
Eleven  pedlar's  children  were  named  after  the  bird,  but 
not  one  of  them  could  sing  a  note. 
One  day  the  Emperor  received  a  large  parcel,  on  which 
was  written  "The  Nightingale."  "  There  we  have  a  new 
8 


€1)0  i^igJ)tingale  ^  ii 

book  about  this  celebrated  bird," said  the  Emperor.  But 
it  was  not  a  book,  but  a  little  work  of  art,  contained  in  a 
box;  an  artificial  nightingale,  which  was  to  be  like  a 
natural  one,  but  was  brilliantly  ornamented  with  dia- 
monds, rubies,  and  sapphires.  So  soon  as  the  artificial 
bird  was  wound  up,  he  could  sing  one  of  the  pieces  that 
he  really  sang,  and  then  his  tail  moved  up  and  down, 
and  shone  with  silver  and  gold.  Round  his  neck  hung 
a  little  ribbon,  and  on  that  was  written,  Cf)C  (ZBlTipCtOt 

Of  31apan'0  niffDtingate  is  poor,  comparcD  to  tbat  of  tbe 

Cmpcrot  of  Cbina. "  That  is  capital ! "  said  they  all,  and 
he  who  had  brought  the  artificial  bird,  immediately  re- 
ceived the  title,  Imperial  Head-Nightingale-Bringer. 
"Now  they  must  sing  together;  what  a  duet  that  will 
be !"  And  so  they  had  to  sing  together;  but  it  did  not  go 
very  well,  for  the  real  Nightingale  sang  in  its  own  way, 
and  the  artificial  bird  sang  waltzes. "That's  not  his  fault," 
said  the  Playmaster, "  he's  quite  perfect,  and  very  much 
in  my  style."  Now  the  artificial  bird  was  to  sing  alone. 
He  had  just  as  much  success  as  the  real  one,  and  then  it 
was  much  handsomer  to  look  at;  it  shone  like  bracelets 
and  breastpins.  Three-and-thirty  times  over  did  it  sing 
the  same  piece,  and  yet  it  was  not  tired.  The  people 
would  gladly  have  heard  it  again,  but  the  Emperor  said 
that  the  living  Nightingale  ought  to  sing  something 
now.  But  where  was  it  ?  No  one  had  noticed  that  it  had 
flown  away  out  of  the  open  window,  back  to  the  green 
wood. 

"But  what  is  that!"  said  the  Emperor.  And  all  the 
courtiers  abused  the  Nightingale,  and  declared  that  it 


€lje  J^igbtingale  ¥  it 

-was  a  very  ungrateful  creature.  "  We  have  the  best  bird 
after  all,"  said  they,  and  so  the  artificial  bird  had  to  sing 
again,  and  that  was  the  thirty-fourth  time  that  they 
listened  to  the  same  piece.  For  all  that  they  did  not 
know  it  quite  by  heart,  for  it  was  so  very  difficult,  and 
the  Playmaster  praised  the  bird  particularly;  yes,  he 
declared  that  it  was  better  than  a  Nightingale,  not  only 
with  regard  to  its  plumage,  and  the  many  beautiful  dia- 
monds, but  inside  as  well.  "  For  you  see,  ladies  and  gen- 
tlemen, and  above  all,  your  Imperial  Majesty,  with  a 
real  Nightingale  one  can  never  calculate  what  is  com- 
ing, but  in  this  artificial  bird  every  thing  is  settled.  One 
can  explain  it;  one  can  open  it  and  make  people  under- 
stand where  the  waltzes  come  from,  how  they  go,  and 
how  one  follows  upon  another." 

"Those  are  quite  our  own  ideas,"  they  all  said,  and  the 
speaker  received  permission  to  show  the  bird  to  the 
people  on  the  next  Sunday,  The  people  were  to  hear  it 
sing  too,  the  Emperor  commanded,  and  they  did  hear 
it,  and  were  as  much  pleased  as  if  they  had  all  got  tipsy 
upon  tea,  for  that's  quite  the  Chinese  fashion;  and  they 
all  said  "Oh!  "and  held  up  their  forefingers  and  nod- 
ded. But  the  poor  Fisherman,  who  had  heard  the  real 
Nightingale,  said,  "It  sounds  pretty  enough  and  the 
melodies  resemble  each  other,  but  there's  something 
wanting,  and  I  know  not  what! "The  real  Nightin- 
gale was  banished  from  the  country  and  Empire.  The 
artificial  bird  had  its  place  on  a  silken  cushion,  close  to 
the  Emperor's  bed;  all  the  presents  it  had  received,  gold 
and  precious  stones,  were  ranged  about;  in  title  it  had 
lo 


^be  i^i5l)tmgale  ^  if 

advanced  to  be  the  High  Imperial  After-Dinner-Sing- 
er, and  in  rank  to  number  one  on  the  left  hand;  for  the 
Emperor  considered  that  side  the  most  important  on 
which  the  heart  is  placed,  and  even  in  an  Emperor  the 
heart  is  on  the  left  side;  and  the  Playmaster  v^rote  a 
work  of  five-and-twenty  volumes  about  the  artificial 
bird;  it  was  very  learned  and  very  long,  full  of  the  most 
difficult  Chinese  words;  but  yet  all  the  people  declared 
that  they  had  read  it,  and  understood  it,  for  fear  of  be- 
ing considered  stupid,  and  having  their  bodies  trampled 
on.  So  a  whole  year  went  by.  The  Emperor,  the  Court, 
and  all  the  other  Chinese  knew  every  little  twitter  in 
the  artificial  bird's  song,  by  heart.  But  just  for  that  rea- 
son it  pleased  them  best;  they  could  sing  it  with  them- 
selves, and  they  did  so.  The  street-boys  sang  "Tsi-tsi- 
tsi-glug-glug,"  and  the  Emperor  himself  sung  it  too. 
Yes,  that  was  certainly  flimous! 

But  one  evening,  when  the  artificial  bird  was  singing 
its  best,  and  when  the  Emperor  lay  in  bed  listening  to  it, 
something  inside  the  bird  said  "Whiz!"  Something 
cracked.  "Whirr !"  All  the  wheels  ran  around,  and 
then  the  music  stopped.  The  Emperor  immediately 
sprang  out  of  bed,  and  caused  his  Body  Physician  to  be 
called;  but  what  could  he  do.?  Then  they  sent  for  a 
Watchmaker,  and  after  a  good  deal  of  talking  and  in- 
vestigation, the  bird  was  put  into  something  like  order; 
but  the  Watchmaker  said  that  the  bird  must  be  care- 
fully treated,  for  the  barrels  were  worn,  and  it  would  be 
impossible  to  put  new  ones  in,  in  such  a  manner  that 
the  music  would  go.  There  was  a  great  lamentation; 

12 


only  once  in  a  year  was  it  permitted  to  let  the  bird  sing, 
and  that  was  almost  too  much.  But  then  the  Playmas- 
ter  made  a  little  speech,  full  of  heavy  words,  and  said 
this  was  just  as  good  as  before,  and  so  of  course  it  was 
as  good  as  before. 

NOW  five  years  had  gone  by,  and  a  real  grief 
came  upon  the  whole  Nation.  The  Chinese 
really  were  fond  of  their  Emperor,  and  now 
he  was  ill,  and  could  not,  it  was  said,  live 
much  longer.  Already  a  new  Emperor  had  been  cho- 
sen, and  the  people  stood  out  in  the  street  and  asked  the 
Cavalier  how  their  old  Emperor  did.  P!  said  he,  and 
shook  his  head. 

Cold  and  pale  lay  the  Emperor  in  his  great  gorgeous 
bed;  the  whole  Court  thought  him  dead,  and  each  one 
ran  to  pay  homage  to  the  new  ruler.  The  Chamberlains 
ran  out  to  talk  it  over,  and  the  Ladies'  Maids  had  a  great 
coffee-party.  All  about,  in  all  the  halls  and  passages, 
cloth  had  been  laid  down,  so  that  no  footstep  could  be 
heard,  and  therefore  it  was  quiet  there,  quite  quiet.  But 
the  Emperor  was  not  dead  yet;  stiff  and  pale  he  lay  on 
the  gorgeous  bed  with  the  long  velvet  curtains  and  the 
heavy  gold  tassels;  high  up,  a  window  stood  open,  and 
the  moon  shone  in  upon  the  Emperor  and  the  artificial 
bird. 

The  poor  Emperor  could  scarcely  breathe;  it  was  just 
as  if  something  lay  upon  his  chest;  he  opened  his  eyes, 
and  then  he  saw  that  it  was  Death,  who  sat  upon  his 
chest,  and  had  put  on  his  golden  crown,  and  held  in  one 
13 


hand  the  Emperor's  sword  and  in  the  other  his  beauti- 
ful banner.  And  all  around,  from  among  the  folds  of  the 
splendid  velvet  curtains,  strange  heads  peered  forth;  a 
few  very  ugly,  the  rest  quite  lovely  and  mild.  These 
were  all  the  Emperor's  bad  and  good  deeds,  that  stood 
before  him  now  that  Death  sat  upon  his  heart. "  Do  you 
remember  this .? "  whispered  one  to  the  other. "  Do  you 
remember  that  ? "  and  then  they  told  him  so  much  that 
the  perspiration  ran  from  his  forehead.  "  I  did  not  know 
that ! "  said  the  Emperor. "  Music !  music !  the  great  Chi- 
nese drum ! "  he  cried,  "  so  that  I  need  not  hear  all  they 
say  !"  and  they  continued  speaking,  and  Death  nodded 
likeaChinaman  toall  they  said.  "Music!  music!  "cried 
the  Emperor.  "You  little  precious  golden  bird,  sing, 
sing!  I  have  given  you  gold  and  costly  presents;  I  have 
even  hung  my  golden  slipper  around  your  neck;  sing, 
now,  sing ! "  But  the  bird  stood  still ;  no  one  was  there  to 
wind  him  up,  and  he  could  not  sing  without  that ;  but 
Death  continued  to  stare  at  the  Emperor  with  his  great 
hollow  eyes,  and  it  was  quiet,  fearfully  quiet! 
Then  there  sounded  from  the  window,  suddenly,  the 
most  lovely  song.  It  was  the  little  live  Nightingale,  that 
sat  outside  on  a  spray.  It  had  heard  of  the  Emperor's  sad 
plight  and  had  come  to  sing  to  him  of  comfort  and 
hope.  And  as  it  sung  the  spectres  grew  paler  and  paler; 
the  blood  ran  quicker  and  more  quickly  through  the 
Emperor's  weak  limbs,  and  even  Death  listened,  and 
said,  "Go  on,  little  Nightingale,  go  on!"  "But  will 
you  give  me  that  splendid  golden  sword?  Will  you  give 
me  that  rich  banner  .''  Will  you  give  me  the  Emperor's 


crown?  And  Death  gave  up  each  of  these  treasures  for  a 
song.  And  the  Nightingale  sang  on  and  on;  and  it  sung 
of  the  quiet  Churchyard  where  the  white  roses  grow, 
where  the  elder-blossom  smells  sweet,  and  where  the 
fresh  grass  is  moistened  by  the  tears  of  survivors.  Then 
Death  felt  a  longing  to  see  his  Garden,  and  floated  out 
at  the  window  in  the  form  of  a  cold  white  mist. 
"Thanks,  thanks!"  said  the  Emperor.  "You  heavenly 
little  bird!  I  know  you  well!  I  banished  you  from  my 
Country  and  Empire,  and  yet  you  have  charmed  away 
the  evil  faces  from  my  couch,  and  banished  Death  from 
my  heart!  How  can  I  reward  you?" 
"  You  have  rewarded  me,"  replied  the  Nightingale.  "  I 
have  drawn  tears  from  your  eyes,  when  I  sang  the  first 
time;  I  shall  never  forget  that.  These  are  the  jewels  that 
rejoice  a  singer's  heart;  but  now  sleep  and  grow  fresh 
and  strong  again;  I  will  sing  you  something."  And  it 
sang,  and  the  Emperor  fell  into  a  sweet  slumber.  Ah! 
how  mild  and  refreshing  that  sleep  was.  The  sun  shone 
upon  him  through  the  windows,  when  he  awoke  re- 
freshed and  restored;  not  one  of  his  servants  had  yet  re- 
turned, for  they  all  thought  he  was  dead;  only  the 
Nightingale  still  sat  beside  him  and  sang. 
"You  must  always  stay  with  me,"  said  the  Emperor. 
"You  shall  sing  as  you  please;  and  I'll  break  the  arti- 
ficial bird  into  a  thousand  pieces."  "Not  so,"  replied 
the  Nightingale.  "  It  did  well  so  long  as  it  could;  keep 
it  as  you  have  done  till  now.  I  cannot  build  my  nest  in 
the  Palace  to  dwell  in  it,  but  let  me  come  when  I  feel 
the  wish;  then  I  will  sit  in  the  evening  on  the  spray 
16 


yonder  by  the  window,  and  sing  you  something  so  that 
you  may  be  glad  and  thoughtful  at  once.  And  I  will  sing 
of  those  who  are  happy,  and  of  those  who  suffer.  I  will 
sing  of  good  and  of  evil  that  remains  hidden  round  about 
you.  The  little  singing-bird  flies  far  around,  to  the  poor 
Fisherman,  to  the  Peasant's  roof,  to  every  one  who 
dwells  far  away  from  you  and  from  your  Court.  I  love 
your  heart  more  than  your  crown,  and  yet  the  crown 
has  an  air  of  sandlity  about  it ;  I  come,  I  shall  sing  to 
you;  but  one  thing  you  must  promise  me."  "Every 
thing ! "  said  the  Emperor ;  and  he  stood  there  in  his  im- 
perial robes,  which  he  had  put  on  himself,  and  pressed 
the  sword  which  was  heavy  with  gold  to  his  heart. 
"One  thing  I  beg  of  you;  tell  no  one  that  you  have  a 
little  bird  that  tells  you  everything.  Then  it  will  go  all 
the  better."  And  the  Nightingale  flew  away.  The  serv- 
ants came  in  to  look  to  their  dead  Emperor — and — yes, 
there  they  stood,  and  the  Emperor  said,  "  Good-morn- 
ing." 


Cbe  €nti 


ARRANGED  AND  PRINTED  BY  D.  B.  UPDIKE 
AT  104  CHESTNUT  STREET,  BOSTON,  U.  S.  A. 


14  DAY  USE 

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